What were some unexpected benefits of losing weight?

Developing an honest love for fitness. Not feeling like going to the gym is 'something I should do for my health' but instead like it's something my body craves to keep me sane.

Wearing tank tops, shorts, small t-shirts, etc. I never realized how much clothing it required to nip/tuck everything and make it appear even marginally smooth. I enjoy popping on a pair of shorts and a tank top and leaving the house without worrying about if my rolls are falling out.

Being fully contained in a normal size seat. I never have to worry if I'm crowding someone on the bus, or if I'm going to feel stuffed like a sausage into a booth. I can offer to ride in the back seat between my girls if we need to transport an extra adult in our car.

I love offering to take smaller seats for someone else to fit a different one. It's like "Oh yeah, I can easily fit in there, don't even worry about it!" It's so nice.

i fitness

Is that the dangest thing? So not a chore. Love being killed at the gym...

I love working out now. I schedule my days off around the gym and not the other way around. I was just on vacation and even used the gym at the hotel. Its insane how i crave the exercise now

I snagged an exit row seat on my last flight and didn't have to give it up because I had to use the seatbelt extender!

So many little positive side effects, many of which are mentioned in this thread.

Orobably the most surprising benefit is walking. I used to worry about how far something was if I had to walk. I would get sweaty, out of breath, and my back and knees would be in excruciating pain.

Now I feel like I could walk forever. It's as if there is literally no end to how far. 3 miles? No problem. 5 miles? No problem. Need to walk around a town all day on vacation? No problem. The thought that I could walk endlessly without getting tired or worn out just never occurred to me. So Awesome.

I really appreciate NOT having to expend such a ridiculous amount of mental energy on navigating the world as an obese person; deciding on which seat will hold me, if I can squeeze through and make a path to the bathroom, will I be judged for what I order in a restaurant, will ANY of the clothes in this store fit me, will I sweat to death in the heat, can I walk that far, how ashamed will I be at the doctor's office, etc. There are frankly too many to list.

I love not worrying about food, my body, my weight in general, my health. I have so much mental freedom now, my husband calls it skinny brain, and I also tend to be more positive and my initial response is more often Yes instead of No. Historically I had an entire category of things I said No to out of fear because of my size. This has been an unexpected gift from my WLS.

Mental energy. I expended an enormous amount of mental energy being super morbidly obese. I had to plan everything I did to minimize the times I climbed a flight of stairs, or timing an errand for when standing in line would be shortest. It all revolved around physical limitations.

Some people complain about the time that food and vitamin planning takes after surgery. But the amount of mental energy I expend now is far less than it was a couple hundred pounds ago.

Exactly

These are my favorite kinds of threads because they bubble with happy energy!!

I have been happy with all of the above!

I'd like to add that now that I feel good in clothes I'm surprised at how many things I want to get out and do. I remember avoiding things simply because I felt so bad about how I looked and my clothes. I didn't realize it at the time, but my clothes have a big impact on me. I used to just (sometimes desperately) look for something that would fit and try to dress it up. Now I can wear what I actually like and it's a huge weight off my shoulders.